Howling Moon
by Atlantic Jewel
Summary: Jasmine always knew that she was different. But, as if being a slightly wild teenager who loves scaring her sisters isn't bad enough, a chance encounter with a monster from their closet reveals her true-self. Jasmine is a Werewolf. How did she end up in the human world? And what secret will Waternoose do anything to keep hidden? Monsters Inc. AU CxM, SxOC, slight RxOC
1. Bedtime Stories

Monsters Inc.

Howling Moon

* * *

Jasmine always knew that she was different. But, as if being a slightly wild teenager who loves scaring her foster sisters isn't bad enough, a chance encounter with a monster from their closet - which she falls through - reveals her true-self. Jasmine didn't realise why she liked stories about werewolves so much...but now she knows that she is one. How did she end up in the human world without her memories, though? Monsters Inc. AU CxM, SxOC, slight RxOC

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Hi! A new fan fic! I'm sorry to all of my readers of _Two Worlds - One Family_ but, yeah...I just saw _Monsters University_, and it was G.R.E.A.T. On a scale of one to ten, it was an eleven.**

* * *

**~Parental Warning~**

**This chapter contains:**

**. Low level coarse language**

* * *

CHAPTER ONE

Bedtime Stories

* * *

Standing at the door of the house was a sixteen-going-on-seventeen-year-old girl, her hand poised in the knocking position, which she couldn't bring herself to carry out.

She was late - _very_ late - and she knew that there would be consequences.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and, almost immediately, she was hit by Hurricane Mum.

"_Jasmine Hollyhock Moon_! _Where_ have you _been_?!" Liana Moon yelled, right before she gasped, in an overdramatic way. "Just look at your _uniform_! You were climbing over walls again, weren't you?!"

Jasmine didn't answer, but she didn't have to. It was true, and they both knew it. Whenever Jasmine was late for something, she tended to take a short-cut. Unfortunately, her short-cuts always seemed to involve some sort of wall, river or bramble-bush.

Liana was not impressed. "Go to your room _right_ now, and get changed! Your Father and I want to talk to you before we go."

"Okay." Jasmine replied, heading for the stairs that led to the other side of the house, but she stopped at the foot of said stairs, and called over her shoulder: "Where are you going?"

"_Out_!" Liana cried but, whether she was referring to her destination that night or as to where she wanted Jasmine to go right then, the later person knew not.

She decided not to push it and, instead, just took the stairs two at a time, crossing over the walkway with its glass windows, before reaching the door that led to 'their' side of the house.

'They' were Jasmine and her three younger sisters - Melinda, who was eight-going-on-nine, Calliope, who had just turned six, and Penelope, who was four-and-a-half. Their parents had finished building the second side of the house by themselves not long after Melinda had been born...which was when Jasmine had been the same age that Melinda was now, and had just started to talk back to them. It was the fact that she'd wanted her own bedroom that had been the turning-point, since she'd gotten the black paint out of her Dad's woodshed one day and painted over the pink wallpaper in her old room. Now, at sixteen, Jasmine was allowed to decorate her room the way _she_ wanted to...as long as she paid for everything. Having a part-time job helped and, the fact that her parents seemed to try and avoid coming over to the second-house whenever they could, meant that she had the freedom to do whatever she wanted.

And, she did.

Stepping into her room now, she closed the door, smiling at her safe-haven, at the one place where she could just kick of her shoes and...

Jasmine froze, and stared around her room in horror. This...this was not her room! What was with all of this pink and...sparkly-ness...and...and..._unicorns_?!

"C...C..._Calliope_!" Jasmine could only scream, turning on her heel and dashing down the hallway, to the room with the bright pink sign on it that read: Princesses ONLY. Jasmine banged on the door. "Open this door, you little freak!"

"What's the magic wo-o-ord?" Calliope's annoying little voice rang out from behind the door, and Penelope's giggle soon followed.

"The magic word is 'let me in before I break down the door _and_ break your nose'!" Jasmine threatened.

"You know, threatening her won't make her open the door." A calm voice said from behind Jasmine, who turned around, to see Melinda standing there. Eight-going-on-eighteen was more like it - the brunette pushed her glasses up, before adding: "And, the password is '_unicorns_', _obviously_." She said, and her sisters opened up the door, to let her in.

"'The password is '_unicorns_' _obviously_'." Jasmine mocked her oldest younger sister, and was rewarded with the door being slammed in her face. Groaning, Jasmine knocked again.

"What's the magic word?" Calliope called to her.

"'_Unicorns_'."

"Nope!" Both Calliope and Penelope dissolved into giggles.

"But, Melinda just said...!"

The door was opened just a fraction, and Jasmine could see one big green eye staring out at her - Calliope.

The little blonde-haired girl stuck her tongue out, and said: "The magic word changes every time somebody _uses_ it, stupid."

Jasmine let out a growl, from deep in the back of her throat. "Okay, that's it!" She shouted, and Calliope screamed, as Jasmine tried to wrench the door open. "Let me in, you little troll!"

"Jasmine!"

"When I get in there, you're..."

"_Jasmine_!" A hand grabbed the teenager by the shoulder, and wrenched her away from the door. Liana, upon hearing the screaming, had dared to brave the other side of the house, in order to prevent the neighbours from calling the police...or the child-protection services. Although Jasmine and Calliope yelling at each other was nothing new, Liana felt that the neighbours could only take so much. Pushing the teenager into her room, Liana crossed her arms, standing in the doorway and barring the way out. "_What_ is the meaning of this? I thought that I told you to go and get changed, and then come and speak to your Father and I!"

"But, Mum!" Jasmine protested. She swept her arm out behind her. "Look at what that little bitch did to my room!"

"_Don't_ you use that language when you're talking about your sister!" Liana snapped. She could feel a massive headache coming on, one that, unfortunately, would probably only be made worse by the Michael Bolton concert that she and her husband were going to. Still, the tickets had cost $150 a piece, and nothing - not even Jasmine and her temperamental teenager-ways - was going to stop them from going. Even though Jasmine's idea of a concert was not the easy-listening of Michael Bolton but, rather the head-banging music of the rockstars that she posted all over her bedroom walls (which were painted black, just like the ceiling).

"But, Mum," Jasmine tried again. "She's a little _freak_! She _always_ comes into my room and takes my stuff, or redecorates, or...or...augh!" Jasmine groaned in frustration, and walked over to her bed (with it's fuzzy bedspread), which she flopped down onto, and buried her face in her pillow.

Liana lingered at the door, and said gently: "Well, maybe it's because she wants to be more like you..."

"Like _me_?" Jasmine peered up at her Mother from beneath a curtain of red hair - it was the kind of red that could put Ronald McDonald to shame. "No way, Mum." She returned her face to her pillow, and so her Mother didn't really hear it when she mumbled: "Even if she _is_ a little freak, at least she doesn't have to deal with the same bullies as me." She got the gist of it, though.

Liana's gaze turned sympathetic, and she began to go around the room, collecting the Disney Princesses posters, sparkly star-wands, and crepe-paper chains. "Oh, honey, I'm sure that it's not that bad."

"Yes it _is_, Mum." Jasmine mumbled. "Everybody at school's either dead scared of me, or thinks that I'm the world's biggest _freak_!"

"Well, maybe if you stopped wearing all of those piercings and listening to that screamo music." Liana suggested, gesturing to the Linkin Park poster above Jasmine's desk.

Jasmine stared at her Mother with disbelieving yellow-green eyes. "Mum, you _really_ think that's _screamo_ music?" She reached for the remote-control for her CD Player. "_This_ is screamo music." She pressed the play-button, expecting to hear the CD, Cradle Of Filth, that she'd left in there.

The music came on...

"_Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight_..."

One of Jasmine's very thick eyebrows twitched, and she met her Mother's gaze from across the room.

Liana tried to hide a smile, but it didn't work. "I'll leave you alone to get changed." She said, heading out the door with an armload of overly-cute-things, and stopping to grab the unicorn on the way out. "Come on over when you're finished..."

She smiled once she was out in the hallway, knowing how angry Jasmine must be right now, but also knowing that, as long as she left her sisters alone, then all was fine.

Better yet, the neighbours weren't going to complain about it, anymore.

"_Never running from a real fight, she is the one named Sailor Moon_!"

Liana stopped to return the objects in her arms to their owners, before heading back towards her own side of the house.

As she stepped over the glass-windowed walkway, she saw Jasmine's window open, and then something flat and silver came flying out, and disappeared into the night.

It looked like it might be time to buy Penelope a new Sailor Moon CD...

* * *

Jasmine slipped out of her ruffled uniform, thankful that it was Thursday, and that tomorrow, Friday, was Sports Day, which meant that she could wear her sports uniform to and from school. It also meant that all of the morning classes would be entierly devoted to sports, which was _exactly_ as Jasmine liked. If only _every_ day could be Sports Day.

The bad news was, that the afternoon classes were entierly devoted to maths.

Mental Abuse Against Homo-Sapiens.

Most Annoying Teacher Hell Sent.

Must Avoid This Horrible Session.

But, can't.

Shudder.

Still, Jasmine was _trying_ to get her grades back up - they'd slipped way too far down the ladder and, if they kept on going, then she was going to flunk year eleven. And, if _that_ happened, then those girls were _never_ going to let her forget it.

So, if that meant that she had to face two entire hours of maths with Mrs. Wiffen, then so be it.

Leaving her white shirt (now more of a grey-patched shirt), red and yellow striped tie, short black pleated skirt and school socks on her bedroom floor (also known as Jasmine's Floordrobe), Jasmine happily slipped into something more comfortable - a black long-sleeved t-shirt, short red pleated skirt, black choker around her neck, and black leg-warmers.

She was just checking her appearance in the full-length mirror on the back of her door (after getting rid of a stray Pound Puppies poster that her Mother had missed), when a ringing sound from her school-backpack reminded her of said Mother's request.

Choosing not to answer the phone, Jasmine instead headed down the hallway, making sure to kick her sisters' door on the way through for good measures.

She arrived in the kitchen on the other side of the house, to find that both of her parents were waiting for her at the kitchen table and, from the looks on their faces, whatever they wanted to talk about was _serious_.

Jasmine decided to try to beat them to it. "Look, Mum, Dad, I can explain. You see, _before_ you tell me off for _not_ studying for the test, I gotta say that I _did_ study for it, but I studied the wrong things, and I..." She trailed off, when her Father held up his hand for silence.

"Jasmine Hollyhock Moon," Laurence Moon II said sternly, adjusting his glasses. "Your Mother and I did _not_ come down in the last shower."

"That's the same tired old excuse that I used on _my_ parents." Liana added.

Jasmine switched her gaze to the blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman, hoping for leniency from the seemingly more forgiving party. "_You_ were failing half of your classes?"

"No," Liana replied. "But, I tried it anyway - in year three."

"Oh." Jasmine shifted uncomfortably.

"Sit down." Liana pointed to the chair at the opposite end of the table, and Jasmine sat - there was no sense in arguing with them.

Now she was facing both of her parents. "Am I in trouble?" She asked, in a small voice. "It was just _one_ test..."

"_One_ test?" Liana repeated. "Jasmine, you've failed _three_ tests this year, and it's only second term - what are you going to do when it gets harder in second _semester_?"

"But, Mum, I..."

"Plus," Liana went on. "You get into fights with the other girls who are _supposed_ to be your friends..."

"They're not my friends, Mum." Jasmine mumbled.

"_And_, you threw a _chair_ at a teacher." Liana added.

"Because _he_ threw it at _me_, first!" Jasmine protested. "I swear to God, he started it!"

Liana and Laurence exchanged a glance, and then Laurence turned back to his eldest daughter.

"Jasmine," the brown-haired, green-eyed man stated gravely, in what his daughters called his 'lawyer voice' - like his Father before him, Laurence Moon I, Laurence Moon II was a lawyer. "I have told you this before - school is _not_ an option. Now, your Mother and I pay a _lot_ of money for you to attend school."

"I know." Jasmine mumbled.

"You're lucky that we don't make you pay your _own_ school fees, like we had to as teenagers." Liana added.

"I _know_!" Jasmine snapped, feeling frustrated. They hadn't even _listened_ to her!

"If you continue to do this," Laurence said, in a _very_ lawyer's voice. "Then we'll make you use the money that you earn at that shop to pay us back your school fees."

"You can't _do_ that!" Jasmine cried.

"_Yes_, we _can_." Laurence stressed. "We are your parents, and as long as you live under _our_ roof, then you _will_ abide by _our_ rules."

Jasmine sat very still in her chair, aware that her hands were clenched underneath the table, and that her nails were digging painfully into her palms.

Laurence's words rang in her silver-pierced ears: '_We are your parents_...'

_They're not...they're not...they're NOT..._ Jasmine squeezed her eyes shut, barely hearing her Mother's instructions for that night.

"There's dinner in the fridge, it's leftover casserole. Make sure that the girls have their bath, and bedtime is at _nine_, and _no_ later. No watching the Horror Channel on Fox-Tel - we'll know. Oh, and Jasmine?"

"What?" Jasmine opened her eyes.

Liana kissed the red-head's forehead. "I love you."

"Love you too...Mum..." Jasmine watched her parents leave, feeling a strange and empty numbness in her chest as they did.

As soon as they were gone, she got up and, still feeling numb, dragged herself back to her room, where she knelt down beside her bed, and stared at the plush toy that sat in pride of place at the head of the bed.

Usually, Jasmine wasn't one for stuffed animals (_especially_ not unicorns), but this one was special. It was brown on the right side, and a weird greenish colour on the left, with three eyes (two normal ones, and then one on its forehead) a black horn that led to black spikes down its back, a red heart on the left side of its chest that was softer than the rest of it, and had two tentacles instead of paws and six tentacles instead of feet - in other words, it was a freak, just like her. She hadn't told anybody, but she'd given it a name - Robo.

She'd had it for as long as she could remember, and nobody else was allowed to touch it.

After all, it was one of the only two links that she had to her past.

Burying her face in her arms now, Jasmine remembered...

* * *

_Seven-year-old Jasmine crept down the hallway of the (back then) much smaller house than what it would one day be in the future. She clutched Robo in her arms, and wore a very long white nightie._

_She could hear voices coming from the kitchen, and so crept in that direction, making sure to keep as quiet as a mouse. She was good at that - it was one of her specialities._

_Stopping just outside of the kitchen, Jasmine cautiously peered around the door, withdrawing immediately when her Mother turned around from the stove._

_"Honey," Liana said, rather disapprovingly and, for one terrifying moment, Jasmine thought that she had been discovered. But, a moment later, to her relief, this proved to be false. "Please don't smoke in the kitchen anymore."_

_"I'm sorry, Liana." Laurence replied, from where he was sitting at the table with a cigarette and the paper. "I keep forgetting - I _still_ can't quite believe it."_

_"Yes, neither can I." Liana said excitedly. "It's such a miracle." She turned back to the stove._

_"Especially after what the doctor told us last time." Laurence replied, not noticing the little red-head that peered around the doorway again._

_"Don't." Liana said, and Jasmine quickly moved back into the shadows again. "Don't even _mention_ that other time. This _won't_ be like that time."_

_"I understand." Laurence said, but Jasmine didn't, and she wanted to find out more!_

_Curious, the little girl slipped into the kitchen when Laurence picked up his newspaper again, and dived under the table, just in time._

_Liana turned away from the stove again, and began to untie her apron. Sitting down, unknowingly just a few feet away from where Jasmine now sat crouched, hugging Robo to her chest, Liana said: "I just don't know what to tell Jasmine. She's only seven-years-old, Laurence."_

_"I know." Laurence replied, reaching for the ashtray. "but, she'll understand. We'll tell her that being a big sister is one of the most exciting things in the world..."_

_Jasmine's eyes widened. A big sister? What did _that_ mean?_

_"That's not what I mean." Liana interrupted her husband. "Laurence...what if she finds out about...you know...?"_

_"Why would she?" Laurence asked her. "Who would tell her? All of my relatives have promised not to, and so has your Mother..."_

_"Yes, but what if she figures it out by herself?" Liana asked. "Jasmine's _always_ been smart...ever since we found her in the construction of the second side of the house."_

_Jasmine froze. They'd _found_ her? But...what did _that_ mean? did parents _usually_ find their kids in construction sites?_

_"I mean," Liana went on. "It's _obvious_ that she's _nothing_ like us, although she's a _little_ bit like me when I was younger, but nobody expects their kids to act like their adult-selves. What if the new baby is _nothing_ like her, and she picks up on it? Or, worse, what if somebody _says_ something to her? She'll find out that she's not our real daughter!"_

_"Ssh, ssh, Liana..." Laurence said soothingly. "You're going to wake her up. Look, we'll just say nothing, and see what happens. If she finds out then, well, she finds out." Laurence shrugged. "What's the worst that could happen?"_

_"She could rebel against us, and make the baby's life miserable?" Liana suggested._

_"Let's try and think positively, Liana."_

_"I'll try."_

* * *

"Hmm..." Jasmine mumbled, taking a deep breath in. She had _never_ told Liana and Laurence what she had overheard. If they wanted to keep on fooling themselves and everybody else, and pretending that she was their kid, then let them. Jasmine would still call them Mum and Dad, and she would still live in their house but, from that moment on, she had tried to distance herself from them as much as possible.

Perhaps...that hadn't been such a good idea.

Opening her eyes, Jasmine reached under her top, and pulled out a silver necklace. Back then, when she'd been little, it had been too big for her to wear. The story was that her parents had had it made for her, but Jasmine knew better. Whoever had given her silver necklace with the M on it (the M with the eye-shape in the middle of it) and her name, Jasmine, on the back of it, _must_ have been her _real_ parents...but, if they'd loved her, then why had they given her away?

Did anybody even _want_ her, the world's worst freak, and not-so-model student?

Something made of paper then tapped Jasmine on the arm, and she looked down. "Huh?"

Penelope, with her mop of light blonde hair and her big, bright blue eyes, smiled cheerfully Jasmine. "Lookie." She said, pointing to the piece of paper.

"What's this?" Jasmine took the piece of paper, and looked at it. "No, really, what _is_ it?"

Penelope's face fell, slightly. "You not tell?" She asked, disappointed.

"You're holding it upside-down, you know." Came Melinda's voice from the doorway, where she was standing next to her other sister. Calliope looked stubbornly and pointedly at the floor, her arms crossed.

"Well, I knew that." Jasmine replied, turning the piece of paper over. Now that she was looking at it right-side-up, she could _sort_ _of_ make out what it was. "_Okay_, let's see then...is...is that me?" She asked, pointing to the smaller of the two crayon-drawn figures. Penelope nodded, happily now. "Why do I have devil horns?"

"Because you're a demon." Calliope muttered, and Melinda nudged her.

"Quiet. This is _your_ fault, you know." Melinda hissed.

"It's _my_ fault that she's a demon?"

"It's _your_ fault that she's so upset!"

Jasmine pretended not to hear this.

Penelope shook her head, and pointed at the paper. "No howns! Eas!" She proclaimed.

"Huh?" Jasmine looked at Melinda for help.

The brunette sighed. "She drew you as a dog-girl with dog-ears, because she heard you call Calliope a...you-know-what, and so we had to tell her that it was a female dog." Melinda shrugged.

"Oh." Jasmine tugged at her neck-choker. _Mum's gonna_ kill_ me..._ She continued to examine the picture. "Okay, so, then, if that's _me_, then who's _that_? Callie?" She guessed, pointing at the big blue thing.

"Ha-ha, very _funny_." Calliope stuck her tongue out. "That's Penelope's monster."

"Penelope's monster, huh?" Jasmine looked up at her sisters. "And, does this monster have a name?"

"No." Calliope shook her head. "We were hoping that _you_ could tell us...since you...you know, work at a scary shop and everything..."

"Uh-huh." Jasmine nodded, and examined the picture, her mind working over-time. "Oh, _right_...you know, I think that I _do_ know this monster..."

"_Here_ we go." Calliope rolled her eyes.

"Wa is it?" Penelope wanted to know.

"His name is Bluetooth. He's a monster that comes out of the closet...and _eats_ your stuffed animals!" Jasmine growled playfully, and pounced on Penelope.

The little blonde shrieked, but giggled at the same time, as Jasmine tickled her.

"Would Bluetooth eat Robo, too?" Melinda wanted to know, crossing her arms, and looking smug.

Jasmine stopped, and gave Melinda the most blank and terrifying glare imaginable. "No."

Melinda's blue eyes, exactly the same as Liana's and Penelope's, widened behind her glasses (she'd inherited her short-vision from her Father). "Okay." She said, in a small voice.

Calliope glanced at Melinda, and then said: "Jasmine, can we have pizza for dinner?"

Melinda looked startled. "But, Mum said..."

"Well, duh." Calliope rolled her eyes. "We'll just tell her that we didn't eat that much! Come on Lindy, I want pizza!"

"Well..." Melinda paused.

"I'll do all of your chores for a week!"

Jasmine had to grin. Sometimes, her sisters weren't so bad. "Alright...let's get pizza for dinner!"

"Yay!"

* * *

The pizza arrived, about ten minutes into one of Jasmine's favourite movies. It starred a girl that nobody had ever heard of, and featured some of the best CGI zombies in the world of movies. She'd seen it before, though, so she didn't mind (much) when she had to go and get the door.

She practically threw the cash at the pizza delivery guy, before slamming the door shut, and hurrying back into the living room with the pizza, just in time to see one of her favourite scenes.

"No," Melinda was whispering, her eyes wide behind her glasses, as Penelope huddled into a pillow, and Calliope looked thrilled. "No, don't go in there..."

The door creaked open and, of course, the army of zombies jumped out at the skimpily-dressed girl.

Melinda and Calliope screamed and, even though she hadn't been watching the movie past the opening credits, Penelope screamed, too.

As Jasmine came in with the pizzas, Melinda said: "M-maybe we should watch s-something else? At least while we're eating?"

"Noooo, it was just getting to the best part!" Calliope complained, pointing to the screen, where the zombies were eating the girl's puppy dog.

"Oh, now _that_ is just _disgusting_." Jasmine shook her head. That was the only part of the movie that she _didn't_ like. "Callie, _how_ can you call that the _best_ part?"

"Because it reminds me of _you_." Calliope replied, and Jasmine took the opportunity to cuff the blonde's ear on the way around.

Ignoring Calliope's howl of pain, Jasmine set the pizza's down on the coffee-table.

"Can we _please_ change the station?" Melinda begged and, when both Calliope and Jasmine looked at her, she added: "Do you _want_ Penelope to throw up all over the place?"

Jasmine and Calliope exchanged a glance. "Agreed." They said in unison, and Calliope picked up the remote and began flicking through stations, as her sisters opened up the pizza boxes.

It soon occurred to Jasmine, however, that Calliope was channel-surfing. She flicked from station-to-station, and it went something like this:

Click!

A lady on the Arabic News said: "Though no one official is prepared to comment, religious groups are calling it Judgement Day. There's..."

Click!

A presenter on MTV was interviewing a band, and saying: "Panic At The Disco, and in the..."

Click!

Icehouse was singing: "Great Southern Land..."

Click!

The Channel Ten news-lady said: "As an increasing number of reports of..."

Click!

The Goofy Movie was playing, as Max yelled: "Big Foot..."

Click!

Judge Judy was saying: "And company, committing..."

A male sports commentator, commentating on the AFL, said: "Serious attacks on..."

Click!

The presenter on a show called Teen Mom said: "Teenaged girls, who are literally being..."

Click!

David Attenborough, commenting on some leopards eating a gazelle, said: "Eaten alive..."

Melinda dived for the remote. "_Give_ me that!" She growled, through gritted teeth.

"Never!" Calliope declared, and the two girls wrestled for the remote, which began to flick through the stations faster than Ham the Piggy-Bank flicked through the stations during Toy Story Two.

Jasmine and Penelope ignored this, and instead savored in the scent of the pizza, which they happily reached for.

Jasmine had _just_ lifted a slice of the gooey and stringy meat-covered pizza up to her mouth, when the phone rang.

Jasmine glanced at Penelope over the pizza.

Penelope glanced back at her. The child was faster than the teenager - _she_ already had the pizza _in_ her _mouth_...

"Penelope, sweetie..._please_ go and answer the phone like you've been shown..." Jasmine begged. The smell of the pizza was making her dizzy, it was _so_ good.

"Mwmfph?" Penelope had taken the world's biggest bite.

Jasmine sighed and, seeing as how her two older-younger sisters were still rolling around on the floor, fighting for possession of the remote, she set down her own slice of pizza, and headed towards the kitchen.

When she walked past Calliope and Melinda, the two girls stopped fighting, and looked at each other.

"Do you think she wants that slice that she had?" Melinda wondered. In answer, Penelope picked up the slice, and ate it in nearly one go. "Oh dear..."

* * *

In the kitchen, Jasmine hung up the phone, feeling elated. Her boss at the costume shop had just asked her to work an extra shift on Sunday - with double the pay, of course. With this in mind, she was on her way back to the living room, when a thought crossed her mind.

"Oh no!" She narrowed her eyes. "I bet somebody ate my slice of pizza!"

She raced back in, to discover that it was true.

"She did it!" Calliope declared, pointing at a startled-looking Penelope. "She did it! She's the one you want!"

Penelope glanced wide-eyed at Calliope, before glancing at Melinda, and then back at Calliope (Melinda was too enthralled watching Animal Planet to pay attention), and saying: "You snijed me."

"That's _snitched_," Calliope said scathing, casually reaching for a lemonade. "And, I'd start running, if I were you."

Penelope took one look at the wild beast in the doorway, and took heed.

As Jasmine chased a screaming Penelope around, the phone rang, and Melinda answered it.

"Yes, Mrs. Phelps." She said, speaking to their elderly neighbour. "No, we're fine, we've just..." She leaned out of the kitchen, and watched Jasmine chase Penelope around and around the living room. "Got a spider problem."

"It must be a _very_ big spider, Melinda." Mrs. Phelps sounded worried.

"Yeah..."

* * *

Needless to say, it took Jasmine two hours to get her sisters bathed, settled down, and then ready for bed, and then getting them to _go_ to bed was the _problem_...

"Read us a _sto-ry_..." Penelope whinged.

"Ye-ah..." Melinda added, joining in with the whining, as she climbed into the bottom bunk of her and Calliope's bunk-bed.

"Don't _whine_, Glasses." Jasmine sighed, handing Melinda her glasses case.

"Sor-ry..."

Rolling her eyes, Jasmine easily lifted Calliope up and into her top-bunk, before going over to the single bed with the grate on it, and tucking Penelope in.

The little blonde drew the covers up to her chin, and smiled a toothy smile. She said: "Wead us a story, Jazz!"

"Uh...no." Jasmine replied, shaking her head.

Penelope's face fell. "Why no-ot?"

"Hey, what did I tell you about whining?" Jasmine reminded her.

"You told Melinda, not Penelope." Calliope replied, fluffing up her pillows.

"Yeah, well, now I'm telling _all_ of you," Jasmine warned them. "No whinging, no wailing, no wussing, no whimpering and _no_ whining." She spoke sternly.

"Can we wish?" Penelope asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure, why not?" Jasmine shrugged.

"Okay!" Penelope hurried out of bed, to kneel beside it, and clasped her hands, as if in prayer. "Deaw God. Pwease let Jazz wead us a story!"

Jasmine groaned, and face-palmed.

"Well, you _did_ say that she could make a wish." Melinda pointed out, putting her glasses in their case, as Calliope brushed out her blonde hair.

Jasmine sighed. "So I did." She picked up Penelope, and sat with her on her bed. "Okay, then. This is the story of the Wolfasaurus."

"Wha a 'Wosore'?" Penelope asked.

"A Wolfasarus." Jasmine corrected her. "It's a wolf crossed with a dinosaur."

"Dinosaurs are extinct." Melinda said, importantly.

"Ah, but _this_ is a Wolfasaurus." Jasmine reminded her. "It was a reptilian-wolf that preyed on innocent wolves. It had eyes like the fires of Hell, razor sharp fangs and claws, and scales as well as fur. It moved as silent as a shadow..."

"You know, shadows aren't particularly _silent_." Melinda spoke up.

To prove her wrong, Penelope jumped out of bed again, and ran to the closet. "I'm a shadow..." She said, in what she _hoped_ was a scary way, and tried to move stealthily into the closet.

"I can still see you."

"Aww..."

Once Penelope was back in her bed, Jasmine continued with her story, about a heroic wolf (named Jasper) that ended up saving his pack...and then disappearing, without a trace. Jasper was searching for his cub, which had been taken from him, but he was always there to help save the other wolves from the horrors of Hell...

"But, they say," Jasmine finished up. "That if _anything_ _ever_ happens to that cub, then Jasper will become a Wolfasaurus himself, and wreak vengeance on the world."

"Is it really all twue?" Penelope's eyes were wide.

"Of _course_ not." Melinda rolled her eyes, but Jasmine noticed that she was cleaning her glasses for the eight time, which is what she did when she was nervous. "Well, it's good legend, and a _really_ good story."

Penelope nodded, but Jasmine saw, with some satisfaction, just how scared she looked.

Perhaps Calliope noticed it, too, because she suddenly smirked, and added: "And, they say, that on some nights, you can see the _ghost_ of the Wolfasaurus, wondering around, looking for people to _devour_!" She growled, and Penelope shrieked.

"Okay, okay, that's enough." Jasmine said, getting up, and tucking Penelope into her bed. Also in the bed were two teddies, a rabbit, two kangaroos, a leopard (_not_ one of the gazelle-eating ones - this one had a friendly face on him),Twilight Sparkle, three dollies (one was a Barbie, but she was bald, because Calliope had decided that she had Leukemia), a green giraffe (won at a fair, by Jasmine, whom had felt _really_ sorry for him), then there was Buzz, Woody, the Alien and, of course, eight unicorns (one for every colour of the rainbow, plus a pink one) and, finally, a hamster (named after Penelope herself, and from some weird anime with singing and dancing 'Ham-Hams'). Jasmine didn't know how Penelope found room for herself in there. She herself would have found it rather stifling. "Okay, well...goodnight..."

"Goodnight." Calliope and Melinda said in unison.

"Goodnight Jazz." Penelope said. "Goodnight Linda. Goodnight Callie. Goodnight Twiwight Spakel. Goodnight Penelope. Goodnight Cacer-Bawbie. Goodnight Woody. Goodnight Buzz..."

Jasmine felt her fuzzy eyebrow twitch, as she closed the door, and something fluttered to the floor by her feet. "Huh?" She picked it up - it was Penelope's drawing of her and 'Bluetooth'. Jasmine rolled her eyes, and took the picture back to her room, leaving it on the desk, as she shut her own bedroom door, and then switched on her CD Player.

Why was _she_ always stuck playing the baby-sitter? When did _she_ ever get to go out?

She didn't, but that was the point...she didn't have any friends...she didn't have anywhere to _go_ (except for work), and she didn't have anybody to go out _with_, so...

"So, I'm cursed to stay here, babysitting the three brats." Jasmine sighed, closing her eyes slightly, and mouthing along to the lyrics of _Black Metal_.

"_Wild is so right, metal tonight_,_ faster than over the top_..."

As the song came to a close, Jasmine got up off of her bed, realising that she did, indeed, need to do her maths homework, if she was going to survive Mrs. Wiffen's wrath (not to mention her parents'). The algebra...or, as some people called it, 'algae-bra'.

Just as she was about to sit down and subject herself to a few solid hours of horror, Jasmine heard a scream that did _not_ come from Dani Filth. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she got up, and hurried out of her room, down the hall, and to her sisters' room.

She opened the door, saying: "Okay, you three, now, _really_..." She trailed off, when she saw that all three of them were huddled in one corner of the room, and staring fearfully at the closed wardrobe door. "What is it?" Jasmine raised an eyebrow, and stood, silhouetted in the doorway, with her hand on her hip.

"There's...a...you're...a...monster!" Calliope tried to say.

"_Excuse_ me?!"

Melinda tried. "Th-th-there was really a m-m-monster!"

"Uh-huh." Jasmine nodded. "A monster. You're not even wearing your glasses, Lindy."

"There really was!" Melinda protested. She pointed. "It-it was in the w-w-wardrobe!"

"Uh-huh. In the wardrobe." Jasmine sighed, and walked over to said wardrobe (which had a bright pink door with a white handle on it). She flung the door open with a gusto, and all three of her younger sisters flinched. "There, you see? No monster."

"B-b-but you said that m-monsters really exist!" Calliope reminded her. She was still shaking.

Jasmine sighed, again. _Did I say that?_ "Okay, you know what, you're right but, he can only scare you once a night so, guess what? You're safe!" She closed the wardrobe door, and walked back towards the door to the room...only to be pounced on by all three of her sisters.

"Don't go!" They begged her.

"Okay..." Jasmine worked hard to control her frustration. _These little brats..._ "How about this? I'm gonna go and get my homework, and bring it in here. then, I'll watch the wardrobe for you until Mum and Dad come home, okay?"

"Since when do _you_ do homework?" Melinda asked her.

"Since I don't wanna wind up broke." Jasmine muttered.

"Jazz..." Penelope whimpered. "It was Bwootoof."

"Bluetooth..." Jasmine muttered. _Right_... "Okay, so, back into bed, and I'll be in in a minute, okay?"

"Pwomise?" Penelope looked up at her, with tear-filled blue eyes.

"Promise."

"Cwoss youw heart?"

"Cross my heart." Jasmine sighed, as she headed out the door.

"And hope to die?" Melinda called after her.

"Yes, Lindy." Jasmine called.

"Stick a needle in your eye?" Calliope added.

"Not likely." Jasmine muttered, as she collected her homework from her room and, thinking better, grabbed her I-Pod and Robo, as well.

When she got back to her sisters' room, she found that all three of them were in bed, and possibly asleep. She was tempted to go back to her own room but, with yet _another_ sigh, she parked herself in a pink plastic kid-sized chair with a yellow and white sunflower on it, and put her I-Pod in her ears.

Turning it up, so that David Draiman's voice filled her mind, Jasmine opened up her algebra book, and glared at it. Why should she have to find X? Why X? Why not a J, or an M? And, why was it hidden, anyway?

Sighing, Jasmine glanced up, and caught sight of Penelope, sleeping soundly, and clutching her stuffed animals protectively.

Jasmine watched her for a moment, before nodding to herself.

Even though she knew that she wasn't blood-related to them in anyway, _nobody_ got to scare her kid sisters, but _her_.

She glared at the pink closet door, with the white handle. _Just try it, Bluetooth...I'm ready for you..._

* * *

The pink door with the white handle was clamped by the metal piece, which picked it up and carried it up to the conveyer, where it joined a row of doors, which were being carried away.

"Okay, good job tonight, monsters, let's call it a wrap!" An orange monster wearing a safety helmet yelled.

"Hey, great scaring tonight, Waxford."

"Looking good out there, George - no accidents, at least!"

"Looks like we got more screams than we did last night!"

"And we _all_ know who to thank for _that_!"

Listening to all of this, the purple lizard-like monster gritted his sharp, pointy teeth, and had to resist the urge to scream.

"All keys for the doors on Scare Floor F are to be returned immediately." Jerry was saying, as the purple lizard known as Randall Boggs turned around, to see everybody congratulating the Top Scarer..._him_...

James P. Sullivan. With his large blue and furry body, he was _beyond_ scary out there on the Scare Floor (even _with_ the pink polka-dots).

Randall gritted his teeth again, as the green beach-ball with one eye, also known as Mike Wazowski, chided all of the onlookers away from his best friend, like he (Mike) was some kind of big-shot and everything. Randall's hatred for the two ran deep..._very_, _VERY_ deep...it had stemmed ever since the embarrassment of their fraternity beating his during college...

But, Randall was just biding his time because soon, _very_ soon, it would be his time to shine beyond _anything_ that James P. Sullivan could throw out. He would _never_ lose to him again.

_Ever_.

"Hey," James P. Sullivan - or, Sulley, as he was known as to his friends - waved to Randall. "Good job today, Randall."

"Hmph." Randall turned away from Sulley, not appreciating the _obvious_ patronizing coming from his rival.

"Just ignore him, Sulley, he's just jealous." Mike advised, as he led Sulley away. "Come on, now, I want to see if Ceilia's ready...hey, do you want to come with us tonight?"

"On your _date_?" Sulley said, as he and Mike left the Scare-Floor, to hand in their Door Card and Scream Canisters. "Uh, no thanks..."

"Well, suit yourself - we're going out for _sushi_!" Their voices faded away.

Randall was left standing in the middle of the Scare Floor, staring at nothing.

"I won't lose to you, Sullivan..." Randall muttered. "_Ever_..."


	2. The Lizard, The Wolf, And The Wardrobe

Monsters Inc.

Howling Moon

* * *

Jasmine always knew that she was different. But, as if being a slightly wild teenager who loves scaring her foster sisters isn't bad enough, a chance encounter with a monster from their closet - which she falls through - reveals her true-self. Jasmine didn't realise why she liked stories about werewolves so much...but now she knows that she is one. How did she end up in the human world without her memories, though? Monsters Inc. AU CxM, SxOC, slight RxOC

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**The song that Jasmine was listening to is called _Black Metal_, by Cradle Of Filth, and can be listened to here: youtu . be / MAWaYfCiHi0 (It's basically Cartman singing a death metal song).**

**The song that she's listening to in this chapter is _Zetzobou Billy_, by Maximum The Hormone, and can be listened to here: youtu . be / FpVHIDLXUPg (It's Japanese death metal at its finest).**

* * *

Guest - thanks for the review, and for saying that it's awesome! XD

RaeDawnxx - thank you for the review, and here's the update! ^^

* * *

_Thanks to the following people for Favving this story:_

AiSoraix3

Lazerraider

Percabeth Jackson

RaeDawnxx

Sailor Sacred Moon

Sissel's a Cute Bad-aft

XxRebelWriterxX.

* * *

_Thanks to the following people for Alerting this story:_

AiSoraix3

Percabeth Jackson

RaeDawnxx

Sailor Sacred Moon

XxRebelWriterxX

catlover1177

* * *

**~Parental Warning~**

**This chapter contains:**

**. Low level coarse language**

* * *

CHAPTER TWO

The Lizard, The Wolf, And The Wardrobe

* * *

"_World of acquittal, words of sanction...an acquired fever, truly "death pirates", redeem the game of law_..."

Jasmine stopped singing suddenly, because the music had just stopped playing.

Liana stood by the CD Player, looking disbelieving. "_What_ are you _doing_?" She asked, her hands on her hips.

"Well, I _was_ singing, but then _somebody_ turned off my _music_!" Jasmine replied.

"Because _somebody_ is about to be late for _school_." Liana mimicked her daughter's tone, before frowning, and poking her toe at something. "What is _this_?"

Jasmine glanced at the rumpled shirt of her uniform (now _definitely_ more grey than white) and said: "Oh...I, uh...meant to pick that up..."

"Uh-huh." Liana crossed her arms. "And, you just thought that the house-cleaning fairies would pick them up?" She spotted something on the desk, and picked it up. "What's this?"

"I dunno." Jasmine shrugged, as she shimmied into her black sports tracksuit pants, and then went looking for her orange polo shirt (orange being the colour of her school house). She found it on the back of her desk chair. It was a little bit rumpled, but it was fine.

As she slipped it on over her head, she turned, to find her Mother holding up Penelope's drawing from last night. "Have you been telling your sisters scary stories again?"

"What is this, Twenty Questions?" Jasmine complained.

"_Just_ answer the question."

"Fine." Jasmine rolled her eyes, as she sat on her bed and began to put on her socks (they were odd socks, but who cared?). "_No_, I haven't. There, are you happy, now?"

Penelope chose that moment to run past the open door to the room, screaming.

Calliope was chasing her, wearing a blue jumper with the hood pulled up, and shouting, in a gravelly voice: "I am Bluetooth! Rawr!"

Liana looked at Jasmine, who feigned ignorance. "I...have _no_ idea where they got that from." She said, picking up her school folder, and a number of drawings that she'd done of monsters fell out.

"Really?"

"Yeah, Mum. Really."

* * *

Breakfasts were always an interesting experience at the Moon house. One never knew what to expect when one entered the kitchen, particularly on a weekday morning.

But, after a few years of experience, Jasmine was ready for anything. She braced herself, and then went in.

"Morning, Jasmine." Laurence was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.

"Morning, Dad." Jasmine replied, going over to the fridge to get her usual Up-And-Go. She dodged around her Mother, who was now on the phone, after having left Jasmine's room after giving her a good scolding for scaring her sisters last night.

"Yes, Carmichael, I _know_, but it can't be all that bad..." Liana was saying, and Jasmine cringed. Carmichael Ackerly was the principal of St. Mary's College, that Jasmine attended, and an early-morning phone-call from him could only be bad news. "Yes, yes, I _understand_...what...? He needed _stitches_...?" She shot Jasmine a startled glance from across the kitchen, before turning her back and looking out the window over the kitchen sink. "Well, I'm very sorry to hear that..."

"Ooh, you're in _trou-ble_..." Calliope grinned, appearing from around the wall.

"_You're_ the one who's going to be in trouble if you don't shut up!" Jasmine snapped.

"_Jasmine_..." Her Father said, threateningly.

"Sorry, Dad." Jasmine said contritely, as Calliope's grin turned to a smirk, which Jasmine would have _dearly_ loved to have wiped off of her sister's face. She tried to remind herself that Calliope was only a kid, and of how scared she'd been last night. Smiling slightly at the thought, Jasmine sat down at the kitchen table, but immediately leapt up again when something squeaked from underneath of her.

Calliope laughed, pointing across the kitchen at Jasmine. "Ha ha ha, gotcha, Jazz!"

Jasmine looked at the rubber chicken that was the culprit, and then glared at her sister. "Ha-ha, very funny." She rolled her eyes, and swatted the rubber chicken onto the floor, before sitting down again.

However, no sooner had she picked up the Up-And-Go box, when Melinda came into the kitchen, and came straight over to her. "Jazz, Penelope needs you - she says that she can't find her socks."

Jasmine sighed. "Why can't _you_ help her, Lindy?"

"Because I need to find my recorder for music class today." Melinda replied, straightening up her glasses. "Come on."

Jasmine groaned, and took her breakfast with her, subjecting herself to ten minutes of hunting for the missing socks all over their side of the house, until Calliope found them.

"They're here!" She called, from where the three younger girls kept their school things. "They were in your shoes the whole time!"

"Yay!" Penelope cheered. "Now I'm weady fow kidegaten!"

"_What_ were they doing in her shoes?" Jasmine asked, straightening up, from where she'd just been looking for the missing socks underneath of a couch-chair.

"Duh." Melinda rolled her eyes. "That's where you're _supposed_ to put them." She said, just as Liana came in.

"Sit." She ordered Jasmine, pointing to the chair that the teenager had just been looking under.

Jasmine sat, noticing that all three of her sisters hung around to watch, the scuz-bags.

"Your principal called." Liana said sternly, folding her arms. "That teacher that you threw the chair at? He needed _five_ stitches in his leg, after the chair hit him."

"So what?" Jasmine looked angry. "Mum, _he_ threw the chair at _me_. What was I supposed to do, just say: 'Oh, that's okay, Walter P. Smites, because you're named after the guy from Deal Or No Deal'?!"

"You are _not_ supposed to retaliate in any way, shape or form!" Liana snapped. "Jasmine, if you continue to fight with your teachers and your fellow students, then you're going to get expelled! Is that what you want?"

_And give those bitches the satisfaction of knowing that I failed?_ Jasmine thought, as images flashed across her mind. _Noooo thank you_...

Taking Jasmine's silence as a good thing, Liana continued: "Now, we're not going to punish you, since the school's decided to give you detention for a week."

"What?!"

"You heard me." Liana sighed. "Jasmine, your principal said that if you _don't_ shape up, then you're going to be _off_ the committee for the Winter Festival."

Jasmine mouth fell open. "B-but...what about all of my stuff?!" _My artwork, and the presentation that I'm doing with the choir..._

"Then, you know the answer." Liana replied. "Shape up, or ship out. It's your choice."

* * *

_Shape up or ship out...it's your choice..._ These words rang through Jasmine's mind as she sat in the front seat of her Mum's 4x4, which drove through the streets of Perth City, in Western Australia. It was a cold day, a sure sign that winter was on the way, and Liana had the windows rolled up, and the heater turned on.

In the backseat sat Penelope, in her booster-seat, and Melinda and Calliope. The two older girls were talking about a teacher at their primary school that had been gored on the face by a bull during an event on a trip to Spain. It sounded painful. Penelope was waving out the window to random people, as Liana drove the 4x4 up to St. Mary's College.

As this happened, Jasmine happened to glance up, and saw Penelope wave to two people that had just roared up on a shining red motorcycle.

Jasmine gasped. "No, wait, Penelope, don't wave to them...!"

Too late. Penelope pressed the little button to roll down the window, and called out to them: "Herro!"

"Oh..." Jasmine groaned, sinking down into her seat, as she heard the laughter coming from outside, and one person's high, clear laughter above the rest.

Liana glanced at her eldest daughter, and felt a pang of sympathy for her, understanding _exactly_ what had just happened, but that was life. "Come on, Jasmine, time to get out."

"Do I have to?"

"_Yes_." Liana replied, firmly but gently. She picked up Jasmine's black backpack, and handed Jasmine five dollars, for lunch. "Just walk straight past them and don't even look at them. Have a good day." She added, as jasmine finally undid her seatbelt, and got out of the car.

"Yeah, sure." Jasmine murmured, in a barely audible voice, as she hitched up her backpack and shut the car door.

"Bye, Jazz!" All three of her sisters called to her, and Jasmine merely waved to them as she turned, and headed across the car park towards the school. It took precisely four point nine seconds for the comments to start.

"Aww, aren't your sisters just so _cute_, Moon?!"

"They're just like the Three Musketeers!"

"How _adorable_!"

There was nothing sincere in these comments, and Jasmine hurried now towards the entrance to the school, intent on getting to her locker and then getting to the sports center to warm up for a morning of sports.

Somebody barred her way, however, and Jasmine was forced to come to a stop, in front of the School Goddess.

Wearing perfectly pressed black tracksuit pants and a blue polo shirt that was tight enough to show off the two assets on her chest, Priscilla McWentworthington took off her blue and black (matching, of course) helmet, and shook out her mane of gorgeous golden blonde hair. It fell in ripples down her shoulders. Her eyes (blue, naturally) were full of mean laughter, as her pink-painted lips curved upwards into a mean smile.

"Why aren't you more like your sister, Moon?" Priscilla asked, tucking a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ears. "Oh, wait, I forgot - you _are_ like your baby sister. A _freak_."

Anger boiled in Jasmine's gut, as she clenched her fists at her sides, and the rest of The Pristines joined their 'leader'.

Aside from Priscilla, there was:

Ariana Darlington, who had the longest light brown hair in the history of the world, and very dark brown eyes. Her hair was so long, that her Mother had had to petition for her to be allowed to keep it at that length at school, and not get it all cut off.

Jodie Jenson, who had orangey-red hair (not bright red, like Jasmine's) and beautiful green eyes. The only reason that she was allowed into The Pristines was because of her uncanny resemblance to actress Arlene Dahl (during her younger years, of course).

Yacinta Sanders, whose exotic beauty only went about as deep as her (flawless) olive skin.

Rebecca Sanders, Yacinta's twin sister, and with the same kind of personality - _obnoxious_.

And, of course, there was Priscilla's boyfriend, Richter Plates, who was one year their senior, and the one with the motorcycle license. He was currently trying to juggle his stuff, as well as his girlfriends, and Jasmine felt a bit sorry for him. It was true, that Jasmine had had a crush on Richter, back in year eight, when he had been in year nine. Of course, he had not wanted anything to do with her...she wasn't even sure if he knew that she existed as anything more than the object of his girlfriend's teasing. Richter and Priscilla had been going steady since year eight, when she'd boldly approached him and demanded that he be her boyfriend.

Jasmine supposed that guys like him like girls who were forward.

Priscilla snapped her fingers now. "Richter, come here!" She ordered him, like he was some kind of a dog.

And, he came to her, straight away.

_Where is your PRIDE, man_?! Jasmine wanted to scream at him but, before she could, Priscilla had thrown something at her.

Jasmine didn't shriek, like some girls would, but she didn't dodge either, which was how she ended up with coffee all over her. From the looks of the cup that Priscilla was now holding, it was a Muzz-Buzz.

Priscilla laughed, as did her friends, and a few people standing in the crowd around them. "Now _there's_ a good look for you, Moon!"

Jasmine closed her eyes, and tried to control her temper, remembering her Mother's words, and the fact that there was an awful lot riding on this. The Winter Festival was the highlight of her school life, aside from sports, that is. It defined her, and was the one thing that helped her to feel more like a human, and less of a...thing.

Something burned on the tips of Jasmine's fingers and, fearing the worst, she dared to open her eyes, and looked down at her clenched hands. Instead of seeing her usual black-painted fingernails, what she saw were slightly curled claws, which were currently digging painfully into her palms. It was her worst nightmare, and it seemed to happen every time she got _really_ angry. Her fingernails would turn into claws...or, she'd run her tongue against her teeth and find out that they were fangs...or, dark brown fur would appear on the backs of her hands...

She was truly a freak, with the strangest things happening to her and, if anybody found out, then they'd _really_ have something to tease her about...

_Okay, calm down...calm down...breathe..._ Jasmine coached herself and, slowly, her fingernails returned to the way that they were supposed to be, and she dared to look up. Phew. Nobody seemed to have noticed that Jasmine had just grown claws, and she planned to keep it that way.

Just then, a sharp voice pierced through the air. "What's going on here?! The bell is about to ring, and I find nearly half of the student body standing around, chatting?!"

"Oh, Miss. Glendinning!" Priscilla changed her tone straight away, and Jasmine wanted to groan. the blonde had changed her tone from the mocking voice that she used when speaking to Jasmine, to the sickly sweet one that she used when talking to adults. "Jasmine's littering! Look!" She pointed a perfectly manicured fingernail at the empty Muzz-Buzz cup on the ground.

"What?!" Jasmine gasped, looking first at the cup, and then at the teacher. "But, I didn't..."

"Office, Jasmine, now." Claire Glendinning said, narrowing her icy blue eyes.

"But..."

"_Now_."

Jasmine didn't reply, but just sighed in defeat, and followed the music teacher to the front office. Of all of the subjects that she could have chosen to teach, it just _had_ to be music...

"In." Claire ordered, pointing to the front doors, which Jasmine walked through, and which swung shut behind her.

Now, Jasmine was standing alone in the office, dripping wet with coffee, and wondering how her day could get any worse. _Well_, she decide,d as she took a seat next to the water cooler. _at least nobody can be having a worse day than I am right now..._

* * *

"Hey, it's a beautiful day in Monstropolis. A nice balmy sixty-five degrees, which is good news for you reptiles, and it looks like it's gonna be a perfect day to, hey, maybe just lie in bed, sleep in, or simply _work out that flab that's hanging over the bed_!" Mike Wowzawski shouted, before taking out an air-horn, and honking it - loudly - right up next to Sulley's ear.

"Whaa?!" Sulley cried, startled out of his blissful sleep, and falling out of the bed to land in a tangled heap of blue fur and blankets on the bedroom floor.

"This is no time to be sleeping!" Mike was in full drill-sergeant mode today...then again, he tended to do this _every_ morning, so Sulley was used to it, by now. They'd been doing this for God knows how many years.

Still, he had to state that he hadn't ordered a wake-up call, which got him the same reaction that any drill-sergeant would give in this situation.

It was then half an hour of rigorous training, to get him into the 'scaring mood', which would, in Mike's own words, allow Sulley to 'fully maximize his scaring capabilities on the Scare Floor' that day.

After what seemed like three years of boot camp compressed into thirty minutes, it was time to go to work. As Sulley picked up his briefcase, a picture that had been sitting on the coffee table underneath of it stuck to it, and Sulley shook the briefcase, to send the picture fluttering to the floor. He picked it up, and looked at it, his happiness draining away slightly, even though the little monsters in the photograph were all smiling happily up at him.

"Sulley!" Mike appeared in the doorway. "Come on, move it or lose it, and by lose it, I mean lose your number One Scarer position!"

"Coming, Mike, coming." Sulley replied and, with a sigh, he placed the picture back down on the coffee table. As he left the apartment that he shared with his best friend, he couldn't help but remember his _other_ best friend, back from his monsterhood...

* * *

_"Okay, okay class, settle down now." Mrs. Bracksworth said, slowly losing her patience, as she used her tentacles to separate two brawling monsters. "That means you, James - don't make me call your Father." She added, and a (then) much younger Sulley scowled at the use of his name. He preferred Sulley, or Jimmy. James sounded too much like his Father._

_As Mrs. Bracksworth put him back down, Sulley heard soft laughter coming from the corner of the room, and turned, to see a young monster leaning against the wall, and laughing at him._

_"Nice job, Sullivan - you _always_ get scared whenever _Daddy_ is mentioned?" She chuckled._

_"_No_." Sulley snapped back._

_The wolfish-monster laughed. "Betcha do. Bet you can't do _anything_ without living in Daddy's shadow."_

_"I'll show you, Howling!" Sulley declared. "You, me, the track, at lunchtime!"_

_"You're on, Sullivan!" She swished her tail. "I'll show you that you're nothing but a Daddy's Girl!"_

_"Did you just call me a _girl_?!"_

_"Yeah, especially with those pink polka-dots!"_

_That had sent the class into a riot of laughter, and even the teacher had smiled._

_Sulley ahd just gritted his teeth, and vowed to _never_ lose to the Howling girl..._

* * *

For a three-year-old monster, she sure had had bite. Sulley had to smile, now, as he recalled how they hadn't exactly been the best of friends...at first...

* * *

Jasmine glowered, as she slipped into the slightly-too-small one-piece bathing suit that had been issued to her. How was _she_ supposed to have known that the sports teachers had organized a surprise triathlon today? Jasmine's bathers happened to be at home, on the floor somewhere (or, quite possibly, under her bed), and what were they doing swimming in the last few months of a very cold Autumn?

It was barbaric, that's what it was, but Jasmine hardly felt the cold, as she slipped on her shorts and, taking a last, sad glance at the lack of chest that she had, she left the girls change-rooms, and hurried out of the sports centre, heading towards the school dam (also commonly referred to by the students as lake Waikikamukow).

The sports classes were all waiting for her, and a few people glared at her, and muttered things about having to wait out in the cold for her, and all that.

After signing into the register, Jasmine stood back, to let the sports teachers go over the rules and safety guides, before they handed out life-jackets. _Why_ they needed life-jackets, Jasmine didn't know. But, she supposed, as she slipped into her life-vest, it wouldn't look very good for the school if one student (or, a lot of students) drowned. Then again, the school didn't seem terribly concerned about hypothermia, so...

"Okay," the sports teacher, Mrs. Brown, said, holding a whistle. "Let's do this, then."

As the girls all prepared to enter the water, Jasmine looked around, but couldn't spot Priscilla or her crew, and had a sudden vision of them sitting in a nice, warm classroom, having gotten out of doing this, somehow.

As soon as the whistle blew, Jasmine was one of the first to hit the water, and swam with the other strong swimmers out to the little red flag on the buoy.

She swam back, and climbed up onto the shore, slipping out of her life-jacket, and tossing it down onto the ground. She hurried over to where the bikes were, and picked one that she knew that she would be able to ride. Strapping on her helmet, she hopped onto her bike and took off, peddling easily through the course that was marked with red flags. When she reached the group of teachers waiting to collect their bikes, she leapt off of it (the bike) practically before it stopped moving, threw off her helmet, and began to run through the running part of the course, enjoying the feeling of the cold wind in her face as she ran. For some odd reason, she never seemed to feel cold, even though even a few of the teachers had blue lips. As she ran through the bushland part of the school, following the red flags, she had a sudden and wild thrill in her chest and, when she looked down at her hands, she saw that her claws were back...okay, so sometimes they came out when she was running, too...in fact, they did that a _lot_. But, why?

What was she?

What was she becoming?

Jasmine suddenly had an urge to run in a different way...a strange feeling was taking her over, and she found herself saying: "Forget the two-legged thing!" And moving closer to the ground, running in a way that could only be described as a four-legged gallop.

Yes...this was _definitely_ more like it...this was...this felt _right_...to run like this...she was actually running _faster_ this way...a bit _too_ fast...

_This...what is happening to me? What am I becoming?_

Jasmine launched herself out of the trees, much to the shock of the teachers who were standing around the finishing line, and Jasmine didn't have enough time to scream at them or tell them to move, and she crashed into them.

Okay, so, if she hadn't gotten expelled for sending that teacher to the hospital, then she was _certainly_ going to get expelled for sending _six_ of them there!

Looking up at the only one left standing, which happened to be her _least_ favourite sports teacher, she asked: "So...did I win?"

"_Jasmine_!"

* * *

Jasmine didn't know why she had run the way that she had today, but she was doing it again, as she took another one of her little shortcuts home, and hurried to beat her Mother home. Liana had picked up Penelope from kindergarten, and then taken her to dance class, before going to pick up Melinda and Calliope from their primary school, and so she didn't know that the teachers had called, and left a message on the answering machine.

Jasmine had been sitting there, when Mr. Ackerly had left the message, and she thanked her lucky stars that her Dad worked, and that her Mum was always busy.

Now, she raced home, to delete the message. She would have the entire weekend, then, to come up with some sort of an excuse as to why three teachers now needed time off.

"Gotta delete that message! Oh God, I gotta delete that message!" Jasmine exclaimed, ducking under the wire of a broken fence, and then leaping over some shrubbery. She just hoped that she wouldn't have to deal with all of those stray cats that had been in the area lately...most people had to worry about vicious dogs. Jasmine had a sign on her that said: 'Mouse'.

And, today was no different. She sprinted, switching to all-fours, as the cats galloped after her. It was a common occurrence, and it was probably the reason as to why her uniform was always tattered.

Well, it had coffee on it today, so Jasmine wasn't sure if the cats would go for that or not. They were chasing her, though, but the house was in sight! And, best yet, Liana's car was _nowhere_ in sight!

Jasmine leapt over the perimeter fence of their five-acre property, and a wave of cats leapt after her. As she ran, Jasmine trained her gaze in at the pretend-rock that sat in the garden, knowing that the key to her safety was just beneath that.

She reached for the rock, finding that it was easier to do this when she was running on all-fours. She just hoped that the neighbours wouldn't be watching.

But...where was the key?!

"Damn!" Jasmine swore, throwing the rock down, and turning, just in time to dodge a furry and fanged shape that came flying towards her. She jumped, and rolled out of the way, looking around desperately, and spotting the patio roof, which gave way to the bathroom window, which was always open. It was her only chance.

Jasmine ran, and leapt up, jumping onto the low stone wall that separated the patio from the back lawn, and hurrying along it, as she reached out to grab the edge of the patio roof. She thought that she could hear her Mother's car in the driveway!

Using all of her strength, Jasmine hoisted herself up, and swung her body up, hearing a slight tearing sound that may or may not have been her tracksuit pants.

She crawled across the patio roof, and over to the window of her parents' bathroom. She wasn't sure why they left it unlocked. Maybe for this very reason?

Jasmine lifted the window up and then, on a whim, glanced back over and down at the cats. They had now formed a kitty-chain, standing on top of each other in order to get to her.

"Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me!" Jasmine rolled her eyes, as she climbed in through the window, and this time she really _did_ hear a car in the driveway! "Eek!" Jasmine slammed the window shut again, sprinting through the fancy black-and-white bathroom and through her parents' room, out into the hall, and down the stairs, to the kitchen.

She slid into the kitchen, grabbing the phone off the wall and pressing the Call Messages button.

"You have _one_ new message." The recorded voice said.

"Heh. _No_, we do-on't." Jasmine said, in a sing-song voice, as she hit the delete button. Then, she casually put the phone back on the hook, and turned, to lean casually against the wall as her Mother came in. "Hi mum. Good day?"

"It was a hectic one, Jasmine." Liana replied, before she stopped. "Umm, honey, now...what have we told you about pets?" She pointed to something that was on Jasmine's sleeve, and she looked down.

A very small kitten, about the size of one of those tea-cup pigs, was hanging from the sleeve of Jasmine's polo shirt by its mouth.

It realised that it had been found out, and blinked, before letting go of Jasmine's sleeve, which was now shredded.

Jasmine stared at the kitten.

The kitten stared back at Jasmine, before smiling, to reveal a mouthful of _very_ sharp, pointy teeth. It then turned, and strolled casually out of the kitchen, and out the front door.

* * *

Jasmine was sketching in her sketchbook, rather than doing her homework, when Liana rang her from the other side of the house.

Sighing, Jasmine got up, and went into the living room, where both of her parents were. The first thing that she noticed was that Laurence was in a tuxedo, and that Liana was in a slinky red evening gown.

"Mum? Dad? What's...?" Jasmine stopped, and then face-palmed. "Oh! Your anniversary..._right_..."

"It's fine, Jasmine." Laurence replied, straightening up his bow-tie. "But, your Mother and I need for you to baby-sit again tonight."

"You know, Dad," Jasmine said, as she followed her parents to their front door. "_Most_ baby-sitters get _paid_ for what they do."

"Okay, then," Liana said. "Then, we'll start paying you in food and clothing repairs."

"My genetic coding does not allow me to succumb to blackmail." Jasmine replied.

"As you want, Jasmine." Liana replied, coolly, as she shrugged into a fur-coat. "You're the only one with anything to lose in this situation."

"I didn't say that I wouldn't _do_ it, I just said that it'd be _nice_ to get paid." Jasmine muttered, as she walked with her parents to their car.

"Well, just _don't_." Liana replied. "Now, another thing - _don't_ order pizza again, and _don't_ fill your sisters' heads with nonsense about _monsters_! They have enough trouble getting to sleep as it is!"

"_Yes_, Mum." Jasmine rolled her eyes.

"Have _fun_ tonight, though." Liana urged her.

"Watch something that your sisters want to watch." Laurence added.

"And _behave_ yourself!" Both parents said at the same time, much to Jasmine's annoyance, as they reversed down the driveway and then drove out onto the street.

"Yeah, right..." Jasmine muttered, turning around to head back inside, only to find an army of angry cats staring at her, their eyes gleaming in the darkness. "Uh-oh..."

* * *

"Jazz..." Penelope tugged on Jasmine's sleeve.

"What is it, Penny?" Jasmine asked distractedly, chopping a carrot with the world's biggest butcher knife. "Jasmine's trying not to burn down the kitchen, sweetie...go and play in the fort with your sisters?" She suggested.

The younger girls had just spent an hour and a half constructing an elaborate fort throughout the entire house, whilst Jasmine had been forced to slave away in the kitchen like a 50's housewife.

"This Bwootoof?" Penelope held up Jasmine's notebook.

"Did you go in my room again?!" Jasmine snapped, throwing down the knife as she turned to face her sister, angrily.

Penelope's face fell. "I just...want see youw dwawings..."

Jasmine softened slightly, and pulled up a bench-chair. "Which one?"

"This one." Penelope said, as she climbed onto Jasmine's lap, and showed her the picture.

Jasmine looked. "Huh? Oh...yeah, I guess it is...I drew that ages ago, though."

"Weawy?" Penelope's big blue eyes widened. "Then, you see him befowe?"

"Once..." Jasmine thought, as an image of a blue monster came across her mind, like lightning. It was so sharp, and so vivid, though, that it stung her for a second. "A long time ago..."

"What about this one?" Penelope flicked through the pages, and showed Jasmine an earlier drawing. It depicted a purple and blue lizard-like thing, with sharp, pointy teeth, and bright green eyes. Half of him was missing, though...

"Why's he disappeared like that?" Calliope wanted to know, as she came into the kitchen, wearing a pirate's hat and eye-patch, and carrying a plastic-sword.

"Because," Jasmine said, lifting Penelope back onto the floor, and standing up, because the pot of potatoes was boiling. "He's like a chameleon."

"I saw that thing in our room, a few nights ago." Calliope stated, crossing her arms over her chest. "That was the night Penelope woke up the neighbours."

"I did _not_!" Penelope protested, but she seemed unsure. "Lizard was...scawy...I scweamed, weawy loud, and Jazz came in."

"Mmhmm." Jasmine said, absentmindedly, as she tested the potatoes. Were they supposed to be falling apart like that?

"Did _you_ see the monster, Jazz?" Calliope wanted to know.

"Huh, what?" Jasmine jumped slightly, as her hand brushed against the hot metal of the pot. "No, of _course_ I didn't!"

"Uh-huh." Calliope seemed unconvinced. "Then, how come you were able to _draw_ him?"

"_Because_," Jasmine said, with as much patience as she could muster. "I have a very vivid and active imagination!" She turned around, threateningly brandishing a wooden spoon which, when coupled together with her Mum's frilly pink apron, made her look about as threatening as a toothpick. "Now, go and play in your fort, you two, and let me cook dinner!"

"You mean _fail_ at cooking dinner." Calliope muttered, and then ducked, when Jasmine threw the wooden spoon at her. "I'm telling Mu-um!" She took Penelope by the hand, then. "Come on, Penny. You can be my first-mate! Let's go and storm Princess Melinda's Castle!"

"Okay!" penelope chirped. "Wha a fur-st-mate?"

"Augh." Jasmine turned back to the stove, to realise that she'd burned the steak. "Eek..."

* * *

"Sulley!" Mike sprinted through the halls, leaping around a corner, searching for his best friend. "Sulley! Sulley, where _are_ you?! I need you! Sulley!" He bumped into somebody. "Owch! Oh, hey, George, have you seen Sulley?"

"I think that he was just talking to Mr. Waternoose, out on the Scare-Floor." The big orange monster replied, as he turned to go.

"Thanks, buddy!" Mike went sprinting off, carrying a massive folder of papers with him. He sprinted back to the Scare-Floor, where he found Sulley, but no Mr. Waternoose, which was just fine by Mike. The one-eyed green monster hurried up to his best friend. "Sulley!" He cried, as the big blue monster turned around. "Thank goodness I've found you!"

"Oh, hey, Mike," Sulley smiled. "What's - whaa?!" He was suddenly nearly thrown off balance, as Mike tipped a large amount of paperwork into his arms.

"Listen, I need you to file all of this paperwork for me, it's urgent!" Mike said, not even noticing that Sulley was struggling with the folders.

"What could _possibly_ be so urgent that you..."

"Oh, Googley-Bear!" A female's voice called out, and Sulley nearly groaned.

Mike turned around, looking suddenly gleeful, as he ran to his girlfriend, who was taller than him. Her name was Ceilia Mae. She was purple, and had one eye like Mike, and a headful of purple snakes, which were sentient. She and Mike had been going steady for quite awhile, now, and everybody knew it.

"Schoopsies!" Mike said, reaching up, and Ceila leaned down, and the two of them kissed.

Her hair-snakes, however, tried to kiss Mike, too, and she reprimanded them. She then straightened up, and caught sight of Sulley. "Hey, Sulley-Wully."

"Oh, hey, Celia...-Weilia..." Sulley replied, still struggling with the paperwork, which he didn't understand how Mike could carry around on a day-to-day basis. It was almost like _Mike_ was the one doing all of the push-ups in the morning, and not Sulley...

"Mike, are you ready for our date, tonight?" Celia asked him.

"Of course I am, Celia." Mike half-turned and, still not noticing his best friend's predicament, added: "Okay, now, listen, Sulley, the pink paperwork gets filed in the second cabinet from the right, and the light green one gets folded twice and put into Marcele's desk-drawer..." Celia began to drag him away, not wanting to miss their reservation. "The yellow ones get sent to the Mail Room to be taken to the other side of the city, oh and don't file the puce paperwork! Leave the puce!"

"What's puce?" Sulley wondered, just as he tripped, and him and all of the paperwork were sent toppling to the floor. "Oh, great. It's gonna take me _ages_ to clean all of this up..."

He sighed, and set to work.

It _did_ take him ages to clean up the paperwork, and he had no idea what half of this stuff even _meant_, but it _did_ gave him a greater appreciation for all of the work that Mike did.

He was just finishing up by getting some of the yellow papers that had fallen behind the desk, when he heard a noise and, for whatever reason, he hid.

Peeking out from behind the desk, he saw a familiar figure, pushing a tray of Scream-Canisters along the Scare-Floor.

"_Randall_...?" Sulley whispered - that purple, reptilian face was unmistakable. _What's _he_ doing here_?

He watched, as Randall took out a Door-Card, and swiped it.

As the door came through the archway high above their heads, it didn't take Sulley long to figure it out. Randall was trying to boost his numbers, by cheating!

Of course, Sulley had cheated once, _way_ back in university...but, there was no _way_ that he would do that, now!

He had half a mind to go out there and stop Randall right then and there but, something made him stop.

It was the sight of the door, the very same door that he, Sulley, had gone through the night before, and scared three little human girls.

Sulley didn't know _why_, but something about the sight of that door set him on edge, and he felt his fur prickle on the back of his neck, as Randall psyched himself up, and then opened the door to the room.

Sulley stayed where he was, crouched there, and waited...

* * *

"Guys, it's _late_." Jasmine put her hands on her hips, and glared at the three faces that were staring up at her. "Look, I already have to clean up this fort that _you_ guys built whilst _I_ was cooking the dinner which _you_ didn't eat, so _don't_ give me those puppy-dog eyes, and _get_ _back_ _to_ _bed_!" She ordered, pointing towards their side of the house.

"You're drawing, not cleaning." Melinda pointed out.

"i was taking a break!" Jasmine snapped.

"But, Jazz..." Penelope mumbled, looking worried. Jasmine noticed that she was holding as many toys as she possibly could. "Wha about Bwootoof?"

Jasmine sighed. "Look, you guys, Bluetooth is _not_ going to come back tonight..." She discretely hid the picture of said monster, that she was currently working on.

"Well, what about the disappearing lizard-thingie?" Calliope wanted to know.

Jasmine sighed. "Okay, _fine_. Look, I'll come with you, and prove to you, that there is _nothing_ in your closets." She marched with them, back to their room, stopping to pick up Buzz Lightyear and Twilight Sparkle along the way. She marched the girls back into their room and, leaving them standing at the doorway, she marched over to the wardrobe, which she flung open and, still facing her sisters, she said: "There? You see? No monsters, no nothing."

"Uh...Jazz..." Melinda suddenly looked _terrified_, and she pointed, with one shaking finger, at the wardrobe.

Jasmine turned around to look, and froze.

Instead of seeing the usual array of clothing and such, what Jasmine saw was what looked like a factory warehouse, complete with shining white-tiled floors and rows of official-looking desks and machines.

"Oh my God..." Jasmine whispered, which is what _everybody_ says in situations such as these.

"_Cool_..." Calliope breathed, daring to creep forwards, but Melinda held her back, as Jasmine tossed the two toys that she was holding away, behind her, suddenly feeling like she _had_ to go into the warehouse room beyond the wardrobe door.

"Buzz Lightyear To the Rescue!" The doll said, because it had hit something, and Penelope let out a small, terrified, gasp.

"J-Jazz!" Calliope cried, suddenly going to hide behind Melinda, as all three of the younger girls looked equally as terrified, and Jasmine turned around, fearing the worst.

What she saw made her skin prickle, as her yellowish-green eyes met a pair of very bright dark green eyes.

"it's-it's the disappearing lizard-thingie!" Melinda cried.

And, it was indeed. he stood there, looking like some form of a mutated, six-legged purple lizard but, somehow, Jasmine knew that he _wasn't_ a mutant, but a monster.

She could understand why he looked so terrifying to her sisters - those sharp, pointy teeth were a bit of a terrifying addition to the whole lizard-look. But, somehow, she also thought that he looked...well, _normal_.

Well, aside from the fact that he was now glaring menacingly at her, and was walking towards her.

"Get out of my way, human!" He said.

"He talks!" Melinda cried.

"Look out, Jasmine!" Calliope cried.

"_Run, you three_!" Jasmine shouted and, for once, her three sisters actually obeyed her, and left her alone, to deal with the monster. She glared at him. "You stay away from my sisters, lizard-boy!"

He actually _growled_ at her, which annoyed her, and so she leapt at him.

He actually looked _startled_, all of a sudden, like he hadn't been expecting her to do that. She crash-tackled him and, when he tried to move, she wrapped one of her arms around his neck.

The prickling feeling in the backs of her hands was back and now, as the two of them rolled towards the open wardrobe door, it started to spread to the entire length of her body, and grew so hot and uncomfortable, that Jasmine had to let go of the lizard as she landed roughly on the polished-white floors.

The lizard immediately scurried away, although he stopped to pick something up, which happened to be Jasmine's sketch-book.

She wanted to yell at him to give it back but, all of a sudden, a strange feeling came across her and, instead of yelling, she opened her mouth, and threw her head back, and...howled?

She didn't know what came over her but, suddenly, it was the only thing that she felt like doing, and it just seemed so..._natural_...

She placed both of her paws on the ground...wait, what?

_Paws_?

* * *

Sulley had watched as Randall disappeared through the door, unable to shake off the feeling that something _bad_ was about to happen and, lo and behold, he was right.

Because, not long after Randall had vanished, the door was thrown open again, and a girl's voice said: "There? You see? No monsters, no nothing."

And then, of course, she had turned around, to come face-to-face with Scare-Floor F.

She had looked stunned. "Oh my God." She'd said, and then one of her little sisters had yelled to her, and she;d turned around, and Sulley _knew_, he just _knew_, beyond a _shadow_ of a doubt, that they had discovered Randall.

"Jasmine!" One of the younger sisters had yelled out, and Sulley had frozen at the sound of the name.

Then, the girl had seemingly jumped at Randall, which Sulley knew was _not_ going to impress the lizard anymore than losing out on his Scares would.

And, then, to Sulley's absolute _horror_, Randall and the human girl had _both_ come crashing through the door. And, as they did so, Randall's tail knocked the door switched. The Door-Card fell out and the door was picked up and taken away, but not before Randall grabbed the Door-Card, and something that the human girl had bought with her.

But, as his number one rival had scurried away, as only Randall could, Sulley's gaze was suddenly fixed on what was happening before him.

In the light of the moonlight streaming in through the windows high above their heads, the human girl had suddenly haunched over, as if in pain. Her body twisted, and contorted, and then...it began to _change_...

Her hands twisted and changed in a painful-looking way, become fur-covered, and her nails lengthened until they became claws. Her ears grew, and became pointed and large, and were also covered in fur, as were her now paw-like feet, her legs and, well, basically, everywhere. She even had a tail, a long brown one that had darker brown stripes on them, like a raccoon's.

Her black, long-sleeved shirt ripped audibly, and her short, dark-red pleated skirt became even _shorter_, as she finally arced her head back, and the fur covered her face. And, as her nose became larger and pink and flatter, and her teeth turned into razor-sharp fangs, her hair lengthened ever-so-slightly, and she turned her face to the ceiling and _howled_.

And, it was that _one_ howl, that sent shivers of familiarity down Sulley's spine.

How many times had he teased her about it? How many times had he tried to prove that roaring was better than howling, only to be told by her that she _couldn't_ roar.

Werewolves _didn't_ roar.

They could shape-change, though, and Sulley had only seen it _once_, in his entire life, and that hadn't been her, it had been her Father.

But, now, he had seen her do it for herself and, as she straightened up to stand upright again, he got up, as well.

He had just heard her beautiful howling again...that long and soulful sound that was like music to his ears...and, terrifying for humans, adults and children alike!

Ignoring all of Mike's paperwork, he began to walk slowly and soundlessly towards the figure standing before him but, somehow, she heard him, and she whirled around.

Her yellowish-green eyes flashed, and she bared her teeth at him, growling softly, under her breath.

Sulley, however, was too overcome with shock to realise that she was acting in a _very_ hostile way towards him and, instead, he just took a step closer to her, and said: "Jasmine?" Her ears perked up at the sound of her own name, but she didn't relax her stance - or, her bared claws and fangs - _one_ _little_ _bit_. "Jasmine Howling?"

Jasmine blinked, looking at him curiously, and Sulley looked back at her, desperately searching her face for _some_ form of recognition.

But, he got none.

"Jazz?" He tried again.

She pounced, without warning and, catching Sulley by surprise, pinned him down onto the floor, where he landed hard, and then she catapulted off of his chest, and ran swiftly and quickly out of the room.

Sulley lay on his back, dazed for a second, before he got up. "Yup, that's _definitely_ her!" He told himself, before running after her, intent on catching her and finding out just _why_ she was running from him - and, where'd she'd been all of these years!

Neither one of them saw Randall, clinging to the wall, semi-invisible, and having just heard something _very_ interesting...

* * *

Back in their room, Melinda, Calliope and Penelope _finally_ dared to open their wardrobe door (albeit, with a long broom handle, and from behind a wall of pillows and cushions).

Of course, their wardrobe was their wardrobe once again, and Penelope began to cry, saying that Jasmine was now gone forever, and that all of the monsters were gonna get her.

Melinda exchanged a glance with Calliope. "Well, that's just _great_. _Now_ what are we gonna tell Mum and Dad?"


End file.
